This is the introduction to the project. Please be as straightforward as possible, but if there are any "non-traditonal" circumstances surrounding the project, this is a good place to note them so we can discuss and get clarity at our first team meeting.

Goals/What do you want to accomplish?

Do you want to sell more widgets? Sell tickets? Increase enrollment?

What pieces do you need done?

Print, web, e-mail, press release?

What is the primary communication of this project? Is there a secondary message?

What is the main message of your communication? Is what you want to say clear? Are there parts of the message that may be confusing that we should discuss? We don't want a communication effort to be vague, so please give this some thought. And if you're not sure, that's OK, too. Just do the best you can and we'll talk through it.

Audiences: Who are we talking to?

Who is the target audience? Primary? Secondary? Again, detail really helps here; do you have any demographics to share? The more precise the better. Go beyond age and sex to include demographics and psychographics if relevant and available. What matters to the people to whom you are speaking?

What is the desired response?

This should be a sentence or two that, in an ideal world, describes how your target audience will respond to the communication piece. For example, "I had no idea that Marketing & Communications offers public relations strategies. I should talk to them about that!"

Tone?

Tell us if this needs to be straightforward and serious, or a little light and humorous? And if there's no definite direction that's OK, too. We'll discuss.

What is the frequency of this piece/pieces?

If an ad, how often to you think this will rotate? If a brochure, how many times a year will you need it?

How often does this happen?

What kind of turnaround time are we talking about here? If an ad, when are the submission deadlines?

How much are you spending?

Items such as printing costs, mailing and distribution, photography and illustration, etc.

Attachments

Now you can attach a file to the request form. Something for our reference such as last year's campaign, example of something you like or do not like, competitive pieces, content/research background, etc.